By means of dimensional selection of natural lignocellulosic fibers, based on precise diameter measurements, it was recently possible to obtain fibers with relatively higher tensile strength. The present article overviews works on the statistical evaluation, through the Weibull analysis, of the ultimate tensile stress of eight lignocellulosic fibers: sisal, ramie, curaua, jute, bamboo, coir, piassava and buriti. It is shown that, for all of these fibers, the tensile strength holds an inverse relationship with the fiber diameter. Statistically this relationship conforms to a hyperbolic type of analytical equation, which discloses the possibility of unusually high strength fibers to be selected in association with very small diameters. A structural analysis using scanning electron microscopy offered an explanation to the strengthening mechanisms responsible for the superior performance of these dimensionally selected fibers.

The jute fiber is one of the strongest lignocellulosic fibers with applications ranging from simple items such as fabrics and ropes to engineering composites for automobile parts and building panels. Like other lignocellulosic fibers, the jute may have an inverse strength dependence with its diameter. In principle, thinner jute fiber could be comparatively stronger and consequently more effective as a composite reinforcement. Therefore, an attempt to correlate the jute fiber strength obtained in tensile test with its corresponding diameter, precisely measured by means of a profile projector, was carried out. A Weibull statistical analysis confirmed the inverse dependence between the jute fiber tensile strength and the corresponding fiber diameter. Scanning electron microscopy observation of the fracture of selected ruptured fiber revealed possible mechanisms that could justify the strength/diameter inverse dependence.